How To : Grow Out Your Hair – 10 Hair Saving Tips and Tricks

Hello you, and welcome to inside the mind of an Obsessive Compulsive Designer.

I may not be the most creative when it comes to hair care, or style, but I wanted to share some tips and tricks that I have used/currently use to help my hair healthy. In my senior year of high school, I decided to change up my hair style by chopping it just below my chin. Yikes. Does not suit my face shape. So, I’ve spent the last 5 or 6 years working on growing it back out as healthy as I can. Up until about a year ago I had been consistently dyeing my hair, so that did not do me any favors, but I managed to keep my hair in good condition. (And when I say consistently I mean every 2-3 months to keep my red hair as vibrant as I could.) Nothing I have to say is original or groundbreaking but they are all tried and true methods I keep my hair long, healthy, and shiny.

Organic Coconut Oil

Coconut oil literally has a million uses but my favorite is to use it as a hair mask. I keep one can in the kitchen and one can in the bathroom. I do a coconut oil mask once if not twice a week to keep my hair moisturized and silky soft. About a half hour before I jump in the shower, I like to coat the lower half of my hair in coconut oil and throw it up in a bun. *Make sure you spend a little extra time washing it out of your hair or you’ll be in for an oily mess!

Not Washing My Hair Every Day

This is key to growing out your hair and I can’t tell you how many people don’t know this trick or don’t use it. Normally I can stretch my hair out to only having to wash it every 3-4 days. Of course, this habit didn’t start over night, I had to “train” my hair to be able to go this long between washes. When you shower every day you strip your hair of the natural oils it produces and therefor dry it out. However, when you wait a few days between washes your hair has time to retain the oils it needs. Of course, my hair isn’t flawless for the days in between washes but dry shampoo DEFINITELY helps.

Dry Shampoo

Dry shampoo is a product I reach for everyday and I go through more cans of this than I do normal shampoo. My favorite brand is Batiste because their dry shampoos work the best for my hair and they also have a product that has a brown tint in it. If you have used dry shampoo before, you know it can tend to cause a bit of a white cast on your hair. The brunette tint makes it so much easier to just spray and go!

Horse Shampoo

It sounds strange but bear with me. Using Mane ‘n Tail added at least four inches to my hair over the course of the SUMMER. Just a few months! Why do horses get the best products!? I don’t know what is in it but it is absolute MAGIC.

Shampoo Twice, Condition Once

Shampooing twice kind of goes hand in hand with not washing your hair every day. Shampooing twice helps get all of the product washed out of your hair and really gets it clean. Just like taking your makeup off works better when you cleanse twice.

Organic Argan Oil

After getting out of the shower, I like to towel dry my hair and apply an oil while it is still wet and my pores are still open. I use about a dime size amount all over the ends of my hair to help prevent split ends. Most of the natural oils you produce stick closer to your roots so concentrating oils on the ends of your hair is extremely beneficial.

Wet Brush

I avoided this product for a while because I thought it was kind of gimmicky. But I’m so glad I gave in and tried this out! This brush is everything to me! I used to avoid brushing my hair and just throw my hair up in a bun because it was too painful or hard to deal with. This brush doesn’t tug on my knots and makes me feel like my hair is less of a nightmare.

Avoiding Heat Products

When I can, I try not to use heated products on my hair to avoid further damage. This is a lot easier to do since I don’t wash my hair every day; so I can stretch my curls for longer and only have to do small touch ups.

Heat Protectant

Whenever I do use heat on my hair I definitely make sure to use a heat protectant. Using heat on your hair is so bad for it but my natural hair looks like hot mess of a lion’s mane.

Regular Trims

I try to practice what I preach when it comes to this. I know getting consistent trims is a great thing to keep hair healthy; but, it still pains me to see the hairdresser take scissors to my hair. Getting usual trims helps keep your ends from splitting and therefor helps it grow longer. It takes longer to see results than just letting it grow for years and years, but you’ll thank yourself when you don’t have to get 5+ inches cut off all at once!